Popular Culture
Throughout his aviation career, Hawks was continually in the news, and was often linked with other famous aviators, including Jimmy Doolittle, Amelia Earhart, Charles Lindbergh and Eddie Rickenbacker, all of whom were personal friends. More than any other contemporary aviation figure, with the possible exception of Alexander P. de Seversky, Hawks exploited his image as an "ace" pilot with countless promotional ventures. Besides numerous advertisements that spotlighted the Hawks image (commonly billed above the title as "Captain Frank Hawks" but sometimes oddly called "Meteor Man"), he was a prominent spokesman for Post Cereals, featured in newspaper comic strips and children's adventure books. Through his "Air Hawks" and "Sky Patrol" fan clubs, Hawks was a favorite with young children.
Hawks was also active in many causes; he flew noted humorist Will Rogers in a fund-raising campaign for the Red Cross to assist Oklahoma drought victims in 1931. During his odyssey with Rogers, they became friends and when the humorist realized that Hawks had natural acting ability, enlisted the pilot into his folksy act. Hawks gradually became more active in entertainment ventures with his long-running radio serial ("Hawk's Trail"), a starring role in Klondike (1932), and becoming the leading actor in a film serial, The Mysterious Pilot (1937). A prolific writer, he wrote a second book, Once to Every Pilot in 1936, along with numerous articles for publication, always promoting aviation.
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“Like other secret lovers, many speak mockingly about popular culture to conceal their passion for it.”
—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)